Dolly Parton To Receive Special Emmys Tribute—But It Won’t Feature One of Her Songs

On Monday, the 78th Emmy Awards will celebrate another year in entertainment with Mariska Hargitay hosting. Excited to welcome some of the biggest stars in Hollywood to the Peacock Theater in L.A., the producers also put the final touches on their In Memoriam segment. While the entertainment industry lost a few icons over the last year, it was hard to compare to the shining light that was Dolly Parton. And when wanting to highlight her talent and generosity, producers turned to Noah Kahan. But apparently, the tribute won’t feature a Dolly song. 

It seemed impossible to have a tribute to Dolly without a Dolly song. During her career, she wrote 3,000 tracks. With more than enough hit songs to pick from, Kahan went a different route with “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” One of the reasons was the fact that the In Memoriam segment included several stars. 

Not wanting to share every detail just yet, one of the producers, Jesse Collins, promised that Dolly would get a special moment. “We’re holding it back. But I think it will be a very beautiful tribute to Dolly.” And given how much of her life Dolly spent entertaining others, the Emmys appeared determined to make sure her moment stood apart from the rest. 

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[RELATED: Dolly Parton’s First Posthumous Song Released as Part of Star-Studded Tribute Album]

Why A Simon & Garfunkel Song Over Dolly Parton?

As for the decision to use a Simon & Garfunkel song, Collins noted that it held a special place in Kahan’s heart. “It’s a song that is very meaningful to him. Paul Simon is one of his favorite artists. So it was really about coming up with an arrangement that does the song justice. He’s such a pure musician, and he’s worked really hard with our team to create something I think people are going to love.”   

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Aside from the tribute to Dolly, the 78th Emmy Awards will bring a few laughs to the event. Teasing her hosting role, Hargitay called on a few late-night writers to give her a hand. “We’re throwing out a lot of different ideas. I’m working with an incredible team of writers — the writers from Colbert … We’ve been meeting a lot and discussing a lot and pitching a lot of ideas. We’re pitching so many ideas.” 

Hargitay might be responsible for bringing the laughs, but the night wasn’t going to be all punchlines. Somewhere between the celebrations, the Emmys planned to make room for a goodbye to not just an icon – but an angel.  

(Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)